will i regret this?!

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oh_the_blood

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so i have about 600 dollars right now to buy a recorder. Ive been looking at the VF80Ex, but im not sure if ill regret this later in life and then want a VF160ex, i plan on doing acoustic stuff, but also maybe a full band later in life.
So should i just save my money till i can afford the VF160?

suggestions would be great! thanks
 
oh_the_blood said:
so i have about 600 dollars right now to buy a recorder. Ive been looking at the VF80Ex, but im not sure if ill regret this later in life and then want a VF160ex, i plan on doing acoustic stuff, but also maybe a full band later in life.
So should i just save my money till i can afford the VF160?

suggestions would be great! thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, wait and get a VF160. I started with a VF80 and then needed to move up. The VF80 is a fine machine, but the price is so close that the VF160 is a very wise buy. What are they $799.00 at Musicians Friend? I got mine for $899.00 and feel it was an excellent buy.

I suppose if you KNEW you'd never need more than 6 tracks, then the VF80 (which in practical terms is a 6 track machine with 7/8 as the Stereo Master) would be fine. But having the additional tracks/inputs can make life a lot easier.

Be aware though that the VF160 DOES NOT have the guitar effects that the VF80 has...
 
the vf80 is only 500 on musicians friend, i think thats worth it.
id probably just buy that and the mxl 990 991 package, hows that sound?
 
oh_the_blood said:
the vf80 is only 500 on musicians friend, i think thats worth it.
id probably just buy that and the mxl 990 991 package, hows that sound?
Click to expand...
Like a really good plan. You've got a good solid base to build on that way! :D
 
oh_the_blood said:
the vf80 is only 500 on musicians friend, i think thats worth it.
id probably just buy that and the mxl 990 991 package, hows that sound?
Click to expand...

The $500.00 price is excellent. I'd go just for the Fostex and a Studio Projects B1 condensor ($99.00) with a shock mount. The Studio Projects B1 (NOT the BehringerB1) works very well with the VF80.

Just keep in mind, you may want to record a band, or have more inputs/tracks (8/16), and the jump to $799.00 will result in a huge jump in recording capacity.

The VF80 is very capable though, and if you run out of tracks on a given song, you can always bounce tracks 1-6 down to 7/8, then move 7/8 to 5-6 and fill up 1-4 all over again! This methods forces you to make decisions early on in the recording process, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
 
If you thought you might ever need to record more than 8 tracks at once, the VF160 can record up to 16 at once if paired with a suitable AD convertor or digital desk.

Orc
 
okay, so now i really want a vf160ex,
i dont have the money to buy it all right now, so does the musicians friend credit card any good at all?
id love to buy all my stuff and then pay 600 off now, and then pay 200 in the next year, hows that sound?
 
oh_the_blood said:
okay, so now i really want a vf160ex,
i dont have the money to buy it all right now, so does the musicians friend credit card any good at all?
id love to buy all my stuff and then pay 600 off now, and then pay 200 in the next year, hows that sound?
Click to expand...
I see that you are only 15, so you may have to ask dad or mom to get the card for you. Are you working? That may help you. I don't know if MF will extend credit to you if you are that young and have little or no credit history. One advantage of the card is they give you some pretty sweet deals that they don't offer to those of us who pay cash (well, money orders anyway), because they are going to make some money off the interest.
 
Your best bet is to get what you can with the money you already have. I'm sure that the VF80 will be enough for you to get some really nice recording done. I have the MR-8, and it's all I really need for now. It only has 2 inputs, so I have to get a mixer for recording live drums (I use a drum machine right now). I'm not concerned about recording my drums live. Joe Satriani used just a drum machine for his best work, so if he can do it, so can I. But I'm no Satch... Still, like a lot of people will tell you, it's not the gear, it's what you do with it...
And he's the best example of that.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and above all else, just have fun with it, or you may as well not do it at all. :D
 
i agree, ive been looking for a job, so maybe ill buy this one, and then upgrade later in life when i really need it. thanks a lot guys. any other tips when i get it right out of the box?
 
oh_the_blood said:
thanks a lot guys. any other tips when i get it right out of the box?
Click to expand...

Yes, read the previous tips. Also, go slow. The VF80 can fool you into thinking everything is instantaneous. But if you're moving a 3 minute section of material from one place to another, it takes a little while for the machine to accomplish this. This is normal, but you don't want to start pushing buttons for the next step until the previous one is finished. Remember, the buttons on the VF80 are electronic, not mechanical. They don't need a hard push, just enough to get a click. Baby your equipment, get a dust cover for it, put it on a solid table and don't jostle the table it's on because the HardDrive won't like this. I actually put mine on two mouse pads, then onto a solid desk. Support the disk tray when inserting a CDR.

Don't overuse effects -- a little goes a long way. I'd still get one Studio Projects B1 over 2 MXL990's. Then get another B1 for your birthday, or Channukah or Christmas or Kwanzaa or to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Get a pop-shield for the B1, and record your voice standing 6 to 12 inches away. Experiment by arming the Record button and listening to the sound as you move around the mic talking/singing. Same thing with recording guitar. Don't just set up and record, take time to place things just right. Make the recording so good you won't need to "fix" it later.

Keep in mind the VF80 is better gear than the Beatles used to record Sgt. Pepper...
 
Thanks! i will defnitely take that advice to heart. The Studio projects b1 do look worth it. I guess this is where quality over quanity will have to come in hand. I have a solid desk and thats where ill be recording, ill use the mousepad tecnique as well. i was wondering, would it sound bad if i record in my closet, facing all my shirts? shouldnt that like dampen some noise? or would it sound worse or better?
also which cd would you reccomend using to burn, like 48x or 16x?

thanks alot, you have no idea how much of a help you are, pretty soon ill be a proud owner of a fostex product!!! haha im so excited about it
 
haha and im glad the quality is better than Sgt. Pepper,
i just hope i can get some semi proffesional stuff out there.
 
oh_the_blood said:
i was wondering, would it sound bad if i record in my closet, facing all my shirts? shouldnt that like dampen some noise? or would it sound worse or better?
also which cd would you reccomend using to burn, like 48x or 16x?

thanks alot, you have no idea how much of a help you are, pretty soon ill be a proud owner of a fostex product!!! haha im so excited about it
Click to expand...

The closet idea is a good one, but make sure there are no weird reflections going on because you can't remove them later. Drapping movers blankets around the closet wall would be good. Later, you add a touch of reverb to whatever you record.

Taiyo-Yudens, sold under the MicroBoards name are excellent.
 
thanks once again! when i make my purchase on zzsounds.com
I am going to buy

fostex vf80ex with cd burner and free bag
studio projects b1 mic
mic stand, probably a tripod one
pop filter
mic cable

and i think thats it, anything else that i would need? i have my behringer head phones, and i think i can some how hook my vf80ex through my power amp that powers my record player and out some nice audio technica speaker, or i could just use head phones, any more suggestions?
thanks so much, i know im asking a lot of questions, its just im eager to learn, and i really appreciate you spending time on my questions
 
oh_the_blood said:
and i think i can some how hook my vf80ex through my power amp that powers my record player and out some nice audio technica speaker, or i could just use head phones, any more suggestions?
Click to expand...

You will use the Stereo Outs to connect to your amp. You will need a cable with 1/4" mono plugs on one end, with RCA plugs on the amp end. Unless your amp has other types of input jacks. Headphones are necessary for recording, but try to mix using your speakers. Headphone mixes often don't "translate" well when played back on other equipment.
 
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